Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Audrey fires her the meanest look she can manage, which isn’t more than a wrinkle of her nose.
“Did you actually talk to him?” I ask.
She smiles from ear to ear. “I did. I mean, we just said hello. But it’s a start, right?”
“Absolutely,” I say, smiling back at her.
Kim, our favorite server, comes by and drops off this weekend’s dinner menu.
“Oh!” Audrey says, digging into her purse. “I brought you guys something from Boston.” She retrieves two small squares and hands Gianna one and me the other. “I saw the star earrings at a little touristy shop by the beach and knew you had to have them, Astrid.”
“I love these,” I say, touched by her thoughtfulness. “Thanks, Aud.”
I run my thumb over the small pink stars with a slight shimmer that will look great in my collection. My grandmother started it for me when I was a baby. Despite my name having no connection to stars, Grandma thought it did and said that stars reminded her of me. I wear a pair of star earrings almost every day. They make me feel closer to her.
Often, I wonder what she would think about the life I’m creating for myself. Would she be proud of me? Disappointed? What were her hopes and dreams for her only grandchild? I’ll never know, and that’s precisely why not having those answers shouldn’t bother me.
Yet it does.
“Yours aren’t earrings, Gianna,” Audrey says, “but I loved this little pin. The pencil reminds me of your journals and all the writing you do for the column.” She grins. “I hope you love it and don’t think it’s silly.”
“Are you kidding me?” Gianna inspects her gift. “I love it. It’s perfect.” She looks up and winces. “But now I feel rude.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because Aud brought me a gift, and I have a shirt in my purse that I brought for her to hem.”
I laugh, taking another drink of my sangria while Audrey convinces Gianna she’s not rude. Even if it were, Audrey would never tell Gianna that. She’s too sweet.
The faint music drifting through the dining area shifts from a piano interlude to a soft opera. I know absolutely nothing about operas or music, in general, for that matter. But every time I listen to this genre, I can’t help but wonder what they’re singing about. Are they falling in love? Heartbroken? Are they ready to commit murder? They could be singing about orgies and cocaine for all I know. It sounds lovely and romantic, regardless.
“Are you ladies ready to order?” Kim asks, pausing at our table.
“We can be,” I say, handing my friends menus from the stack at the end of the table. “It’s not like we haven’t tried everything at one point or another.”
“There’s no rush,” Kim says.
“I’m probably getting the salmon,” Audrey says. She closes her menu seconds after opening it. “Yeah, I’m boring. I’ll take the salmon for the fourth time in a row.”
Kim laughs. “You’re lucky that’s a menu staple.”
I scan the offerings, ruling out everything with peanuts. “I love the pad Thai, just not a possible trip to the emergency room after.”
The only item this week that looks totally safe is the lemon chicken with rice. And while my reactions are thankfully mild to most triggers, I don’t feel like living on the wild side tonight. I’d like to start the new week without hives or swollen lips.
Especially considering what the upcoming week will bring.
My stomach twists into a tight knot at the thought of Gray Adler. He’s taken up more of my mental real estate than I care to admit since he walked out of Renn’s office yesterday. Thinking of him immediately puts me in a bad mood, and I promised myself I wouldn’t think about him tonight. So I push the bastard out of my head and focus on ordering.
“Lemon chicken with rice, please,” I say.
“Ooh, I’ll have that, too. I loved that the last time you ordered it.” Gianna takes our menus and hands them to Kim. “Thank you.”
“Thank you. I’ll put this order in. Let me know if you need anything else,” Kim says before walking away.
“How’s the urinal?” I ask Gianna as soon as Kim is out of earshot.
“Urinal?” Audrey asks. “Do I even want to know?”
Gianna rolls her eyes. “I bought a—”
“Used,” I interject.
“Urinal—”
“From a guy on Social,” I add.
Gianna gives me a look. “For an art project. And it’s great, thanks for asking.”
Audrey and I exchange a grin. While this might be the grossest thing our friend has purchased, it’s not the weirdest. Gianna once bought a box of old, used lottery tickets to use as wallpaper for bird houses. She keeps things interesting.
“You guys are never going to guess the question we had come in for my segment Just Between Friends,” Gianna says, steepling her fingers in front of her like a villain. “The stuff we get in every week for this column is batshit crazy, you guys. I don’t know why it draws in the kind of questions it does, but it never fails to entertain. Sometimes, though, we get one that’s just …” Her eyes go wide, and she flinches. “It’s wild out there, folks.”